Agenda and minutes

Councillor Nicola Heaton – other Council business

Councillor Dave Trimble – other Council business

Dave Robinson (Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service)

None.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2016

The minutes from the meeting held 14 September 2016 were agreed and signed by the Chair.

Maria Ward, Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS), updated the Sub Committee on the Voluntary and Community sector, as per the attached update sheet.

Following questions from the Sub Committee, Maria provided some further information on area based grants. The decision was to roll the area based grant funding out through the 8 area committees, as a result of listening to the sector. In 4 of the areas, NCVS has been sub contracted to provide the infrastructure support. For the other 4 there is inconsistency in who is providing that support and the level of support provided. Voluntary sector organisations need to be targeted for support, they need one-on-one support. Alist if kept of the organisations that are referred on by NCVS to area leads, but often they are referred back. A quick guide for who organisations should talk to for support is available on the NCVS website, as is an area map, and information about what is happening and what support is available in each area. There is also information available about citywide providers networks.

RESOLVED to thank Maria Ward for the update and note its contents.

Report of the Director of Commissioning and Procurement

Jo Pettifor, Category Manager Strategy and People, presented a report to the Sub Committee on the Procurement Plan 2016-2021.

The Procurement Plan is a 6-monthly report to the Sub Committee, with the plans (People, Places and Products) contained within the appendices. The plan for the next 5 years, along with the approach that will be taken, is set out. So far this year, £64,000,000 of contracts have been awarded, with 71% of those going to local suppliers.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  note the Nottingham City Council Procurement Plan 2016 – 2021;

(2)  note that the Procurement Plan is indicative of planned procurement activity and timescales, which may be subject to change dependent on the outcomes of the strategic commissioning process, service budgets and priorities and the full consideration of procurement options for each requirement;

(3)  note that the outcomes of procurement activity undertaken in accordance with the Plan during 2016/17 will be reported at the end of the financial year.

Reasons for decision

(1)  The Procurement Plan supports compliance with the Public Procurement Regulations and the Contract Procedure Rules of the Council’s Financial Regulations by enabling procurement activity to be planned and undertaken within the duration of existing contracts. This minimises the need for dispensation from the Financial Regulations to be sought to extend contracts beyond their expiry date without formal tendering being undertaken, other than in genuinely exceptional circumstances. This is particularly important in relation to goods and services that are subject to the full application of the European Procurement Directives.

(2)  The Procurement Plan is a key mechanism in the implementation of the Nottingham City Council Procurement Strategy 2014-17, enabling the planning of procurement activity to deliver the Council’s strategic priorities:

•  Grow the local economy

•  Drive increased local job opportunities for local people

•  Deliver effective value for money for our citizens

•  Lead as an Early Intervention City

•  Lead as a Green City.

(3)  The Procurement Plan supports compliance with the Public Procurement Regulations and the Contract Procedure Rules of the Council’s Financial Regulations by enabling procurement activity to be planned and undertaken within the duration of existing contracts. This minimises the need for dispensation from the Financial Regulations to be sought to extend contracts beyond their expiry date without formal tendering being undertaken, other than in genuinely exceptional circumstances. This is particularly important in relation to goods and services that are subject to the full application of the European Procurement Directives.

(4)  The Procurement Plan provides information for internal and external stakeholders about planned procurement activity and presents a clear, transparent and robust process of procurement planning. It facilitates joint working with partner organisations and collaboration in procurement activity. It allows other service departments (such as Legal Services) to include support for procurement activity in their work plans.

(5)  The Procurement Plan supports the Council’s commercialisation agenda by enabling potential ‘Make or Buy’ opportunities to be identified in a timely way in advance of existing contracts being due for renewal. It facilitates the forward  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Report of the Director of Public Health and the Director of Commissioning and Procurement

Chris Wallbanks, Strategic Commissioning Manager, presented a report to the Sub Committee on the extension of Health Visitor and School Nursing contracts.

The recommendations in the report are for an extension of the existing service, and to award directly to CityCare for the children's element, subject to consultation with Councillor Graham Chapman as the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Neighbourhood regeneration. The reason for the extension is to ensure those services are maintained, whilst the review is put into place to move towards an integrated service. One of the reasons for the delay is because Nottingham City Council is looking into a new and innovative model of procurement, and hoping to reduce the contract values going forward.

The Sub Committee added that keeping the message of the integrated service as simple as possible is important. The size of the resource is tremendous, and it is important to ensure the review is complete correctly. It is a chance to do something that will be right for the children of Nottingham and their parents for decades to come if it is done right.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  approve the extension of the Public Health contracts listed in exempt Appendix 1 to the report, for up to 1 year from 1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018, at a cost not exceeding current contract values;

(2)  approve dispensation from sections 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules, in accordance with section 3.29 of the Council’s Financial Regulations, in respect of the Public Health contracts indicated in exempt Appendix 1 – in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer and the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Neighbourhood regeneration;

(3)  approve the issuing of a direct award to Nottingham CityCare Partnership for the Children’s Public Health Nutrition Service from 1 April 2017-31 March 2018, at a cost of £79,000;

(4)  delegate authority to the Director of Public Health in consultation with the Portfolio Holder of Adults and Health, to agree the final values and award contracts for the services listed in exempt Appendix 1 to the report, providing these do not exceed current contract values;

(5)  delegate authority to the Head of Contracting and Procurement to sign the final contracts and contract extensions in respect of all services detailed in exempt Appendix 1 to the report, following approval by the Director of Public Health to the agreed contract awards;

(6)  approve the budget to support the contractual values set out in exempt Appendix 1 to the report (if the contractual values are over and above current indicative values a separate report will be presented for approval).

Reasons for decision

(1)  Extending the contracts listed in exempt Appendix 1, for one year will ensure that access to essential public health services and the continuity of service provision is maintained for children and families whilst the Child Development Strategic Commissioning Review work is completed and recommendations arising from review work during 2017/18 are implemented in a timely manner.

(2)  The Child Development Review Team has reviewed these  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

To consider excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining item(s) in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining items in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information, as defined in paragraph 3 of part 1, Schedule 12A of the Act.

Report of the Director of Public Health and the Director of Commissioning and Procurement

RESOLVED to note the information in the exempt appendix.